


Fighting with Boys

by Burgie



Category: Starshine Legacy
Genre: Alex Cloudmill - Freeform, Anne - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Josh - Freeform, Lisa - Freeform, Mrs Graham - Freeform, derek - Freeform, linda - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8813056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Alex has a crush on Anne, and she's willing to fight Anne's various boyfriends for a chance with her.





	

Alex had a pretty girl on her mind. Which wouldn’t be so bad, if the pretty girl wasn’t the most unavailable girl on the planet. Alex sometimes watched her, seeing the pretty blonde girl talking and laughing with her friends. She always got a little jealous at that. But seeing Anne talking to boys… well, that really made her blood boil.

She cornered the latest one on the main staircase of the school.

“You have two girls you’re into, go after the other one,” said Alex, standing over him with her fists clenched. She was shorter than him, but she knew how to look threatening.

“I don’t like Anne, I like Lisa,” said Josh, looking confused.

“Then go after her,” said Alex through grit teeth.

“But I like being with Anne, she’s pretty and popular,” said Josh.

“So you’re just using her for her popularity?” Alex seethed.

“Yeah,” said Josh. He slammed into the wall when Alex’s fists collided with first his jaw, then his ribs.

“You piece of shit,” Alex snarled. “You use her just like everyone else!”

“But she likes me so it’s not that bad,” said Josh. Alex kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the ground. She would’ve aimed lower, but his pants were so damn baggy that they’d just get in the way.

“That just makes it worse,” said Alex. She heard high-heeled footsteps behind her and sighed.

“Alex Cloudmill!” Mrs Graham snapped.

“You stay away from Anne,” said Alex, stepping closer to the crumpled boy on the ground. She raised her foot and stomped on him, and then she felt the strong arms of the janitor grab her.

While she was suspended, Alex had James report back to her on how Anne was doing. Alex’s actions had only made Anne care for Josh more, and now she was nursing him back to health. Please, he only had some bruises. She hadn’t even managed to break a tooth.

When Alex finally returned to school, it hurt to see Anne with Josh. That dick was lapping up all the attention, of course, playing up his injuries for his girlfriend. And so what if Alex wanted Anne to treat her the same? She wouldn’t hurt herself on purpose, of course, but maybe she could throw the next fight with Buck…

Unfortunately, the next fight was when Buck decided to pull out his best moves. Alex couldn’t duck one of his blows, and was left groaning on the ground. Katja, who always watched the fights, looked at her, but then walked away.

“So I guess the unconquerable Alex can lose a fight, after all,” said Anne. Alex’s heart soared to hear her, but it crashed to the ground again when she saw the boy on Anne’s arm.

“I’m fine,” said Alex, getting to her feet. She tried to pretend that the tears were from the pain in her ribs.

Fortunately, like all of Anne’s relationships, Josh only lasted until the next cute boy rolled into town. This one was the photographer for a fashion magazine that Anne wanted to model for. But while Alex was relaxing with her new friends, Josh approached Lisa again.

“So, I’m single now,” said Josh, blatantly ignoring Lisa’s hand being held by Linda’s.

“Not interested,” said Lisa.

“Really? But I’ve dated Anne so I’m more popular now,” said Josh.

Alex was almost expelled for kicking him down the stairs. But Mrs Graham was too busy dealing with the fashion magazine people to deal with schoolyard fights.

The one good part about that day was that Alex caught Anne looking at Jessica in a way that wasn’t just rivalry. That was before Jess flirted with Derek, though. But seeing Anne take interest in a girl made everything else unimportant.

“So it looks like Derek is the latest arm candy,” said Linda as they ate lunch together.

“Yeah, but did you see her look at Jess?” said Alex. “She’s gay too.”

“Bi,” Lisa and Linda said at the same time.

“What? Are you leaving?” asked Alex.

“No, Alex, Anne’s bisexual,” said Lisa. “That is a thing, you know.”

“It is?” asked Alex. “Huh, well I didn’t know that.”

“And now you know,” said Linda.

“But still, she likes girls,” said Alex. “So there’s a chance for me.”

“Maybe,” said Linda. “Don’t forget that you’re more of a tomboy. Maybe Anne’s not into that type of girl. After all, Jess looks like as much of a princess as Anne is.”

“Don’t crush my dreams,” said Alex.

She had to stay after school for a meeting with the school principal. Her mother was supposed to be there too, but she was busy working. Josh’s mum was there, though, and she did not look pleased at all to see the girl who’d pushed her son down a flight of stairs. She probably also knew that Alex had beaten him up months ago.

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” said Alex. “I’ve gotta take my little brother home and get to the stables to take care of my horse.” And to see Anne’s photography session, of course.

“Oh? Well, I have to take my son to the doctor. He’s in agony from what you did to him,” said Josh’s mother. Alex tried not to roll her eyes.

“You should hear the way he talks about girls. He was only dating Anne for the popularity,” said Alex.

“And because the girl he likes is a filthy lesbian,” said Josh’s mum. Alex stopped tapping her foot and stared at the woman.

“Mrs Greyfield, at this school we have a zero-tolerance policy against homophobia,” said Mrs Graham.

“Oh, I know, you just let in all sorts here,” said Mrs Greyfield. “Like that street urchin.” Alex dug her fingernails into the bottom of the chair’s seat so she wouldn’t punch the woman in the face.

Like all good school principals, Mrs Graham could sense the tension. “Perhaps I should speak to the two of you separately.”

Alex paced the outer office like a caged tiger, feeling fury heat her veins. It wasn’t bad enough that the woman’s son had treated her crush like a trophy, she just had to be vile. No wonder Josh was so bad, like mother, like son. A tiny part of her reflected that at least he hadn’t insulted her. And he’d had the chance, too. He’d actually told her once that she was just jealous, and Alex had admitted it. He could have said that a filthy lesbian like her would never get Anne. But instead, he’d just said that Anne liked him and he was with her.

Looking at the time, Alex swore and got out her phone. She texted one of her older brothers, telling him to pick James up and take him home, and then resumed pacing. Josh had probably been nice about Lisa’s rejection, too, telling his mother that she didn’t want to be with him because she liked girls. Alex could actually imagine the conversation. She’d had the same one with her mother.

After a while, Alex stopped thinking. If she kept thinking about that vile woman, she’d start thinking about her father. Her thoughts shied away from him and shut down, just like they usually did. When Mrs Graham saw Alex in that state, she quickly ushered the other woman out of the room and brought Alex into her office.

“You know, Mrs Goldheart is always available if you need to see her,” said Mrs Graham. It was amazing how the grouchy old woman could change when Alex got like this.

“I know,” said Alex. “But I don’t want to talk.”

“Well, I do have to punish you,” said Mrs Graham.

“I know,” said Alex.

“I won’t expel you, though what you did is grounds for expulsion.” Alex remained silent. “But, nor will I suspend you.”

“Huh?” Alex looked up at her.

“I know that Mrs Greyfield brought up memories you’d rather forget,” said Mrs Graham. “And I know that you’re fragile right now because of that.”

“No I’m not,” said Alex, even as her fingers dug so deeply into the chair that they began to go numb.

“Alex,” said Mrs Graham.

“Fine,” Alex grumbled. “So how will you punish me?”

“After-school and lunchtime detention for the rest of the school year,” said Mrs Graham.

“Can James stay after school with me?” asked Alex.

“Yes, unless your mother or one of your brothers can pick him up. I will provide supervision for him,” said Mrs Graham.

“Thanks,” said Alex. “Does my detention start today?”

“Ordinarily I would say yes, but considering what happened… I will allow you, just for today, to go and visit the stables,” said Mrs Graham.

“Thank you,” said Alex. When she was feeling like this, only Tin Can could make her feel better.

On her way to the stables, though, Alex saw something happening on the road up ahead in the mist. She hid behind a tree, not wanting to get involved in any more drama today. Jealousy boiled up in her at the sight of Derek, but, like all her emotions at the moment, it was numb. She was still shaking, too.

Alex turned her head away when the Dark Core goons began to beat Derek up, but she saw something blowing away on the breeze through teary eyes. Anne’s photos. So she really had missed the session. At least she had Tin Can to look forward to.

Alex relayed what had happened to the other girls, and then got Anne’s number from Linda and called her. The happiness in Anne’s voice when she answered the phone was like sunlight, pushing away the dark clouds that had smothered Alex.

It still hurt when Anne asked Derek out on the day of her big win, but not as much. Maybe Anne would be happy with him, but he most likely wasn’t going to stay. That was okay. At least Anne was talking to her now. Even with the weeks of detention to look forward to, even with the jealousy, even with the memories leaving her in tears most nights and forcing her to work herself to exhaustion… at least she had Anne to talk to every day.


End file.
